Chips are (what Americans call) fries. Fish and chips ... really is fish and chips. Chips are (what Americans call) fries. The fish is usually cod/haddock in batter or breadcrumbs. The fish is usually cod/haddock in batter or breadcrumbs. He decided to make potato chips out of the extras and sell them in brown paper bags through the delicatessen as Wise Potato Chips. Fish and chips ... really is fish and chips. Herman Lay began selling potato chips in the south, and in 1932, he founded Lay's in Nashville, Tenn., as a distributor for a chip factory in Atlanta, Ga.